E — fretboard degree map

The same neck read as degrees instead of note names. A degree tells you what a note does in the key, which is what transfers from one key to another: the shape of the major scale is the same everywhere, the letters are not.

Tuning

standard (E A D G B E)

Key

E major

Degrees shown

1 to 7 with the accidentals of the key

Frets shown

0 to 22

Notes outside the key

C, D, F, G, A# (marked with a dot)

Comparison

the same map as note names is on E note map

E major, as degrees

A dot marks a note that is not in the scale. The shaded cell is the tonic.

E natural minor, as degrees

The same fretboard read against the natural minor scale of the same tonic. The shape is the major scale of the key a minor third above, which is why it is the same set of positions moved three frets.

Using the degree map

• The major scale is the same sequence of intervals on every string. Reading it as degrees rather than letters is what makes the shapes transposable.
• The fifth degree is the most common note to double in a chord, and the third decides whether the chord is major or minor. Both are visible in the map above.
• The notes outside the key are the ones available for chromatic movement: a b3 over a major chord, a b7 over a major triad, a #4 to move up to the fifth.
• The relative minor of E is C#; the natural minor map above is the major map of G read from a different tonic.

Related

• Neck mapE — note mapE major · frets 0–22 · E F# G# A B C# D#
• ScaleE major7 notes · 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
• ScaleE natural minor7 notes · 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
• KeyKey of EE F# G# A B C# D# · E major / C# minor
• Neck mapNote namesall twelve pitch classes, frets 0–22
• ChordE — Major1 3 5 · E G# B
• ChordE11 — Dominant eleventh1 9 3 11 5 b7 · E F# G# A B D
• ChordE13 — Dominant thirteenth1 9 3 5 13 b7 · E F# G# B C# D

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Everything in this key: E · Fretboard · Theory Atlas